Monaro Woman of the Year

By
Kim Pham

VOLUNTEERING can make as much difference to your own life as it does to the lives of those you are helping. No one knows this more than Queanbeyan City Councillor Trudy Taylor, who was named the 2014 Monaro Local Woman of the Year this week.

Monaro Woman of the Year

2014 Monaro Woman of the Year Trudy Taylor.

2014 Monaro Woman of the Year Trudy Taylor with Member for Monaro John Barilaro.

2014 Monaro Woman of the Year Trudy Taylor.

Cr Taylor's family at the award ceremony. Her grandfather Jim Woods, 100, strains his ears to hear her speech.

2014 Monaro Woman of the Year Trudy Taylor with her grandfather Jim Woods, 100, who she said inspired her to volunteer. Mr Woods still gives him time to help run the Queanbeyan Printing Museum.

VOLUNTEERING can make as much difference to your own life as it does to the
lives of those you are helping. No one knows this more than Queanbeyan City
Councillor Trudy Taylor, who was named the 2014 Monaro Local Woman of the Year
this week.

Cr Taylor was recognised for her long standing support for
community organisations including SIDS and Kids where she has been a volunteer
for nine years.

The organisation is one that is close to her heart after she
and husband Shane received its support following the death of their two
children.

"Sadly our first child was stillborn and our second child died when
she was two and half hours old," Cr Taylor, 46, said.

"We received support
from SIDS and Kids at the time of their deaths that was in 2005 and 2006. From
that I realised the value of the organisation. It had a personal impact on us
and it's just a way of giving back."

Cr Taylor first began helping by selling charity bits and bobs and helping at
fundraising events. She is now involved with foster care and also works part
time for the organisation as their funding and communications officer.

"Shane
and I tried to have a family and it didn't work. It wasn't meant to be for us.
We looked at going through the adoption system and we've been trying to adopt
for about seven years," Cr Taylor said.

"Two and a half or three years
ago…[someone] asked if I would consider adoption through foster care."

The
Taylors began providing foster respite care about two years ago and moved on to
permanent care about a year ago.

They were fortunate to be chosen as foster
carers for a four-year-old boy.

"Around Christmas time he started calling us
mummy and daddy and for all intensive purposes he's pretty much our child. I
don't know how long he'll stay with us for. It could be a few more months, it
could be permanently," she said.

"With foster care you can't plan anything,
things change very quickly. He has brought a lot of headaches, pain and angst
but also brought an amazing amount of joy to our family.

"He gives as much to
us, as we give to him."

The award also recognised Cr Taylor's commitment to
local government.

She was elected to council in 2008 and is currently serving
her second term.

She said she was surprised and embarrassed to receive the
award and attributes her love for community service and volunteering to her
grandparents.

"You don't do what you do for accolades or awards. You just do
it because you believe in what you're doing and you're passionate about it," she
said.

"There have been studies to show that if you go out and volunteer in
your community there are tremendous affects on your own mental health and
wellbeing. It makes you feel good…